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Living Faithfully

Jesus, light of the world

Is your child afraid of the dark? Maybe you’ve felt afraid of the dark yourself. Nighttime, no matter your age, is scary. I recently found myself in rural Michigan and…
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Voices of Faith

Reader stories: Christmas pageant bloopers

Editor’s note: The following collection of stories is a response to a reader call for funny Christmas pageant bloopers. This is a companion to the article “Pillow fights, wild hogs and…
Grounded in grace
Voices of Faith

Grounded in grace

My mother, Ruth, died this past summer. I miss her terribly. She was a fourth-grade teacher and passed on an ardent love for books and reading. Growing up in Tennessee,…
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Living Faithfully

Christmas storytelling

As Christmas approaches, many families read stories about Jesus’ birth together. An illustrated story Bible is a wonderful tool to help kids visualize the people and places from Jesus’ time….
Spiritual lessons from a newborn
Living Faithfully

Spiritual lessons from a newborn

The school of parenting never ends. With my first child, I read everything I could get my hands on. I asked questions of every mom I knew. Eventually, I calmed…
The grace of adoption
Living Faithfully

The grace of adoption

All I saw was my fear, not the joy that could be found on the other side of “yes.” Grace blows into my life as unpredictably as the wind. Sometimes…
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Living Faithfully

Talking with your kids about death

Many of the best children’s stories start with death. Often it is the death of one or both parents. Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach stands out for dispatching…
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Living Faithfully

Pills and patience

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 145:8). I’d heard these words countless times at church, but they didn’t sink in until…
Study guide: The grace of adoption
Study Guides

Study guide: The grace of adoption

Opening your heart and family to welcome a child who needs a home is an incredible act of generosity and love. Thousands of children are adopted every year, but thousands…
Fall to-do list for little Lutherans
Living Faithfully

Fall to-do list for little Lutherans

Fall is here. It’s the season of pumpkins, falling leaves, bright colors and hot drinks. If you live in certain regions of the U.S., then it’s a time to grab…
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Living Faithfully

Teaching generosity

My grandmother had a hard childhood. She grew up watching her single mother struggle to provide during the Great Depression, when jobs were scarce and it wasn’t socially acceptable for…
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Living Faithfully

3 signs of what it means to be church

Ask someone what they think church means or what you do at church, you’ll get a variety of answers. My daughter uses sign language to communicate. We’ve taught her certain…